strain? worse, remember governor bobby jindel? >> some of the projects in the bill makes sense the legislation is largely wasteful spending and includes $300 million for new cars by the government, $8 billion for high speed rail projects. >> guess who just applied for $300 million for high speed rail proenlgts projects for louisiana? in 2012 the republicans should not nominate her for president. they should nominate her. >> top ten ways the world would be different if britney spears were president. whoa. think about that. >> all that and more now on "countdown." good evening from new york. a new poll even from the right tilting rasmussen reports now showing not only americans overwhelmingly want a public option but that support for health care reform collapses without one. after a morning filled with reporting about the white house deciding democrats need to go it alone on reform in our fifth story the afternoon saw a briefing in which the press secretary insisted there was no plan b to bipartisanship.

president obama having campaigned on a platform of affordable, accessible health coverage for all including the creation of a, quote, new public plan that would, quote, help individuals purchase new, affordable health care if they are uninsured or want new health insurance. the white house now claiming to have been caught flat footed by anger over the casual defense of a public option. even though that rasmussen poll shows 57% of all voters would find health care reform untenable without it. quoting from "the washington post", i don't understand why the left of the left has decided that this is their waterloo said a senior white house advisor who spoke on the condition of anonymity. we've gotten to the point where health care on the left is determined by the breadth of the public option. i don't understand how that has become the measure of whether what we achieve is health care reform. let me take a moment here to help the advisor understand with a quick comment. there are two health crises in this country right now, mr. advisor, the obvious one 46 million uninsured. not merely a crisis but a blight on our standing as a civilized

nation and a reflection not of the unparalleled generosity of our people but of the few, the powerful, and the greedy who manipulate so much of this nation. but i guess the second health care crisis would not be as urgent as burning as shameful as obvious if you've been in government with government supplied care for years or decades. the insured of this nation are also getting hosed. premiums jump annually or even more often. deductibles continue to rise. reimbursements continue to drop. the insurance companies steer you to the doctors with whom they have deals. many of the best doctors won't take insurance of any kind anymore. rationing exists today. rationing decided by influence and cash. and the senate finance committee is currently considering another kind of reform that would let the insurance companies rape their customers at nearly twice the current percentage. this is not waterloo, mr. advisor. closer to armageddon. get your head out of the district and back into the country where as a wiser fellow just said the other day from the presidential seal, we are being

held hostage by the insurance companies. as for how the white house plans to respond to the mess it has created possibly with more of the same, on the one hand white house chief of staff rahm emanuel seeming to indicate to the new york times democrats now see little chance of republican cooperation on health care reform. on the other white house press secretary gibbs still insisting in today's briefing that bipartisanship is the only way forward and that there is no plan b. >> we are focused on a process that continues in the senate with both parties. the president, again, met with senator bachus on friday in montana and they discussed the progress that was being made among democrats and republicans on the finance committee. that's our focus. >> as we've mentioned on this news hour before the very definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. speaking of which, fresh town

hall insanity. that one health care giant is no longer even bothering to pretend he is astroturf. united health group now directly urging its employees to attendanty reform rallies, mass mailing a letter, and setting up a hotline to direct its own callers, its own people to local events. quoting from the letter, it is critical we as leaders in the health care industry are communicating with our members of congress to ensure that they understand our story and views. isn't that what lobbyists and truck loads worth of campaign donations and bribes are for? outside a town hall event in bozeman, montana democrat max bachus shouted down with chants of no, no, no and getting a little confused about the crazy things called video cameras, describing the protestors to "the new york times" as, quote, agitateors whose sole goal was to intimidate, disrupt, and not let any meaningful conversation go on. there were a couple of people in the crowd with youtubes mr. bachus added, meaning cameras.

and he posited the agitateors were paid and probably from out of state. i could just sense it he said. first hint that some of the senator's instincts might be admirable but it is wrapped inside the caustic reminder this is the brain trust now running health care for democrats in the senate. meanwhile in another town hall event in dartmouth, mass last night congressman barney frank dismissing a nazi comparison as all such comparisons should be dismissed. >> they say we need to limit medicare expenditures in order to do that, in order to reduce the deficit. that's the origin of this policy. this is the t4 policy of the hitler policy in 1939 where he said certain lives are not worth living. certain people we should not spend the money to keep them alive. my question to you is why do you continue to support a nazi policy as obama has expressly supported the policy.

why are you supporting it? >> i'm going to revert to my ethnic heritage and answer your question with a question. on what planet do you spend most of your time? it is a tribute to the first amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated. >> amen. time now to bring in our own howard fineman senior washington correspondent for "newsweek" magazine. good evening. >> hi, keith. >> a clear majority of americans in a poll conducted by a conservative leaning polling group want a public option. it is the essential ingredient. 57%. mr. obama campaigned on such a plan. the white house having nearly burned its hands to cinders playing with the fire of not doing it, did they wake up and smell the coffee today to say nothing of the cinders? >> it's hard to know. it's hard to know, keith. i think that barack obama and his people may have taken the wrong lesson from the failure of

hillary clinton and bill clinton's health care plan all those years ago. it wasn't that the clinton plan was devised in private inside the white house so much as that it was mind bogglingly complex. what the white house has done is allowed the congress to control this process up to this point, keith, and that's been a terrible mistake, because a popular president especially needs to come in with a clear, sharp agenda and basically beat the congress of the united states over the head with it even if it's your own party, especially if it's your own party. ronald reagan did that in the early '80s with his tax cuts. that's the model that barack obama should have pursued here because you're taking on 1/7 of the economy, taking on huge industries as your introductory remarks talked about. you know, you've got big insurance companies, tons of big interests here who don't want to change. he needed to attack the hill with a specific, detailed plan rather than passively sit back

and let not only the hill but his own advisors, keith, inside the white house tell mr. president, it's just too tough. barack obama did not have a lot of legislative experience or for that matter washington experience. he compensated for it by hiring a lot of washington insiders including rahm emanuel, a brilliant guy, who probably i think told the president, you know, it may be too heavy a lift, sir. let's go for something else. that may turn out to have been a big mistake. >> all right. so what is going on right now? we had indicators in both directions. mr. emanuel saying the white house and the democrats are prepared to go it alone. mr. gibbs at the news conference this afternoon saying there is no plan b on bipartisanship. which is it? >> well, i think it's the former. i think increasingly the white house and the leaders on the hill are looking at a democrats only option. of course the ironic problem with that is in part because the president hasn't pushed it hard enough, there might be a democrats only option without the most popular feature to

democrats in it, namely the public option. because if they go it alone they're going to have to use this procedure in the senate called reconciliation. my understanding is you can't put the public option in a reconciliation bill for arcane legislative reasons so they may end up with the worst of both worlds here. >> the cynical among us might suggest that this to some degree was the strategy all along after at least the right wing rage against obama was funneled into the health care debate, which it has little to do with, that you counter balance it by letting left wing rage about abandoning the public option boil up the way it has. was this political jiu-jitsu? did it work? if so what is the practical means by which it worked? >> i think you have a point there. i think what some white house people are doing is saying, let's get the left jind up about this so perhaps they will put the pressure on and counter balance what's happened over the last few weeks on the right. it takes the president to do that and if he really wants the public option he had to have focused on it from the

beginning. i know you showed at the beginning of the segment that he campaigned on it during the campaign. yes, it was in the campaign -- it was in the literature of the campaign but it wasn't something he dwelled on and focused on like a laser beam either in the campaign or now, so even if the left, even if the bloggers on the left really push it, that's not going to do anything on the hill without the president, himself, trying to hold his own party members' feet to the fire. he isn't doing that. >> howard fineman of msnbc and "newsweek", great thanks for the perspective especially on this -- on the auspicious occasion in the history of this event. thank you, sir. >> thank you. >> it's msnbc big show alumni night. for more let's turn to "the washington post" columnist and senior fellow at the brookings institution, e.j. dionne. good evening. >> my favorite alumni connection. thank you, keith. >> having long ago dispensed with the notion of a grass roots movement can we now also get rid

of the complement that was calling it astroturfing? if a health care giant like united health group is directly organizing health care employees to attend town hall health care events, and antireform rallies, that's not grass roots or astroturf. that's just asphalt. >> you know, if it gets too much attention it could become a tar baby for them. >> yep. >> i think it's not surprising that people -- companies are turning out their employees to oppose something that they think is going to hurt the company. i mean, we talk about powerful, big business because they have real power. i think it would be more significant as this reporting goes on if something about the strategy of disruption and all of that, if that's also connected to these companies, because i think there are a lot of people who are turned off by that kind of activity, that kind of disrupting speaker shouting at people. but there's another, there may be a plus side here for the pro health care reform side. i think there may be splits

developing among the health insurers. i still think there are some insurers out there who look at the possibility of 46 million new customers and i think you still may have some of them making a deal in the end. i still think this thing is going to pass myself. >> well, certainly there is somebody at united health care who is split on this because they released this e-mail to the public which obviously is the first suggestion that they're not as infallible the insurance giants as we might think they are. on the subject of -- >> that's comforting. >> it is. but this is not the failability of some of the senators, mr. bachus and the protestors at his town hall. i think his instincts were great about who they were and calling them agitateors but this phrase there were a couple people in the crowd with youtubes. this man is running health care for the democrats in the senate? why do we -- do we have nobody better? >> weren't people watching us on that radio with pictures thing right now? >> there it is. >> maybe he is more sophisticated than we know and

knows most people will actually see him on youtube. but there is something kind of archaic about the whole debate. you showed that ronald reagan speech on medicare and how terrible or how badly off our children would be if they passed that terrible medicare. this whole argument against socialized medicine is such an ancient argument. it goes back 50 years and all of our competitors in the world, capitalist countries who have government led health care systems that insure everybody seem to be doing just fine so i think bachus with all his problems and his dependent relationship with chuck grassley here, i don't think it's as archaic as some of the arguments being thrown out by opponents of this bill. >> now, the ratio of opponents to proponents did we see that changing? has there been some sort of sea change or tipping point in this that just going back to that town hall event in dartmouth, at massachusetts, where congressman frank was clearly being supported by that crowd as that woman went crazier and crazier and we've seen the number of

public option proponents in many of the town halls around the nation out numbering those who were there to defeat reform. has there been a change do you think? >> i think there has. first of all i think it's great that barney frank represents the house i grew up in so i think of him as one of my congress people. he always speaks his mind. he once was at a raucous town hall and everybody was yelling and he looked at the crowd and he said, look. we politicians are no great shakes but you voters are no day at the beach either, he said. you can tell barney has a safe district up there. but i think it's good that he's -- he spoke back. and i also think that what you said earlier about this fight about the public option finely raising some energy on the left side or the pro reform side of the debate, the other guys got out there first. i think it was a mistake on the pro health care reform side not

to organize as quickly but they're starting to come tout. i think you're right about the way you read barney's town meeting. >> howard fineman's point was great, too, that the president and the white house kind of let this thing get away with them. in any event much more to discuss as we continue. e.j. dionne of "the washington post", great thanks as always. >> great to be with you. thank you. >> a senate committee is now contemplating the insurance company's take on every one of your dollars. if the increase is granted you would be responsible for 35 cents out of every health care dollar in esenls. for contrast, legally casinos can only keep 25 cents out of every gambling dollar and usually they stick to 20. if you think that's armed robbery wait until you hear the back story emerging tonight from the men who showed up armed to the obama health care town hall in phoenix. one of them believes the government manufactured waco and 9/11 to silence armed american citizen militias. new chevy e

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when making as much on your dollar as the vegas casinos do is no longer enough the insurance industry's bid to boost its take to 35%. later crazy woman tells jewish congressman he's defending hitlerian policies. congressman notes woman is crazy. rush limbaugh and fox news defend crazy woman. you are watching "countdown" on msnbc. with pieces left behind. it's soft and more durable. so you're left with a more dependable clean. fewer pieces left behind. new charmin ultra strong. if you're using other moisturizing body washes, you might as well be. you see, their moisturizer sits on top of skin, almost as if you're wearing it. only new dove deep moisture has nutriummoisture, a breakthrough formula with natural moisturizers... that can nouri deep down. it's the most effective natural nourishment ever. new dove deep moisture with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin.

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back when bugsy and meyer lanceky began to build their vegas gambling operations the website daily beast reports even these mobsters considered it cheating to make more than 20 cents profit on every dollar spent by gamblers. the insurance companies already make almost 20 cents profit on every dollar you pay in premiums but health care reform will

change that. how? the senate is debating whether or not to make you pick up as much as 35 cents of every dollar billed by your medical providers. in vegas they used to call casinos that made more than 20% profit a flat store. the flat store reputation was the kiss of death because gamblers knew they'd get better odds elsewhere. today nevada regulations restrict casinos to a max of 25%. new jersey casinos take home no more than 17% profit by law. why is the senate finance committee run by democrat max bachus considering making even americans who have insurance pay 35% of their medical bills? according to "business week" quote united health group urged a more friendly ratio, the same people sending employees to the town halls. subsequently the committee reduced the reimbursement figure to 65% suggesting a 35% contribution by consumers more in line with what the big insurer wants. the final figures are still being debated. you bet they are. joining us tonight a veteran of the insurance industry, former communications chief for signa wendall potter now senior fellow on health care at the center for

media democracy and one of the heroes of the current drama. much thanks for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> this premise in the daily beast consumers picking up 35% of the tab. that is equivalent to insurance companies making 35 cents per dollar on every dollar in premiums. is that in fact equivalent? can you sort this out, the actual relative numbers? >> yes, it's pretty complicated but the insurers have a variety of ways to screw the consumer and this is one technique. what they've been doing over the last few years is shifting more and more of the financial burden, the costs of health care under the shoulders of consumers, working men and women. they want to do this because it's the last way they have, the last trick up their sleeve to try to control health care costs for themselves and for employers.

they also have been spending less and less of every premium dollar on medical claims since 1993. then about 95 cents of every premium dollar was spent on medical claims. now it's down to about 80 cents. the other measure you were talking about that was in the "business week" story is even worse because you will still have to pay your insurance premiums and you will still have to pay a lot more out of pocket. what they're trying to get done in the legislative language is to make sure you pay at least 35 cents of -- 35% of the medical bills. when you go to the hospital and you have a bill that's $20,000, that's average right now, that's a chunk of change. >> what is -- give usa genthe -- give usa gen the numbers as simply as possible. what is the reimbursement now and what would the change to 35% mean practically. >> the reimbursement now varies from insurance company to insurance company. that would represent kind of a floor presumably but would be one insurance companies would rush to. in other words they would make you pay that much out of your own pocket. for many people who are still in medicare, excuse me, in hmos and some ppos they've been accustomed to just paying a copayment. this is a vast shift in the financial burdens being shifted

to americans. and it is a reason why you already are having a lot of people filing for bankruptcy and losing their homes right now. if you consider the fact that the average median income in this country is $50,000 if you're asking people to pay that much out of their own pocket for medical claims you'll have a much worse crisis of bankruptcies and foreclosures in the near future. >> let me step up from this 35% figure for a second and the debate. the more we talk about this and the more this unravels in front of us and the more the atmosphere is heated up at these town halls, as a veteran of this industry and now as a veteran of the truth industry relative to this industry, are we -- is the average american citizen under attack actually more or less defending himself in a war by the insurance companies and are the insurance companies on the offensive or the defensive at the moment?

>> well, the insurance industry is very savvy. in fact, they enlisted a lot of people to be their foot soldiers unwittingly. a lot of these people who are showing up at these town hall meetings and attacking the idea of a public plan are doing so without realizing that they are pawns of the insurance industry. it's sad to say but the insurance industry is very, very savvy at manipulating public opinion. they do this through front groups they've set up, through big pr firms they hire to feed talking points to politicians and to talk show hosts and editorial writers and people that these people trust. so that they think they're hearing it from people who are telling them the truth not realizing it is coming straight from a special interest that wants them to think a certain way. >> and, briefly, what did you think as a former professional in this field about the united health group and this memo getting out urging their own

employees to show up at these town halls as if they were disinterested parties just telling their side of the story? >> i used to do it when i was at signa. all the companies do that. >> goodness. every day worse than we thought it was the day before. wendel potter insurance industry whistle blower, former head of pr for signa. my first opportunity to say this to you sir. thank you for speaking out. >> thank you very much. this is not quite the carl lewis rendition of our national anthem but as versions of god bless america go this is some bad singing. and a woman compares the policies of a president and a jewish congressman to hitler and the media elite antisemitic snobs attack the congressman. worst persons ahead. about computers and my daughter is going to college, so she needs one. - can you helme? - ( shouting ) - yes, you. - our line of next class laptops are perfect for college, and they start at just $650. are those good? 'cause i don't want to get her something - that she thinks is totally lame. - no, they're awesome. and they come with pre-loaded software so she won't have to do a thing. - great. she's good at that. - ( blue shirts laugh ) laptops designed for college and thousands of people eager to help.

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you have to imagine bob costa saying this. they do not fight with him they do not fight against him. first on this date in 1934 was born richard raskin a former navy commander, one of the great eye specialists in the country and someone with the courage to undergo gender transition and by the way become the 20th ranked women's tennis player in the world as dr. renee richards. happy birthday, doc and thanks again for fixing my eyes all those years ago. let's play "oddball." the beautiful dodger stadium where last night the home blue battled the st. louis cardinals. during the seventh inning stretch, recording artist erica david battled the lyrics of "god bless america." accompanied by my pal nancy b. on the dodger stadium organ here is erica david.

♪ god bless america land that i love and the night with a light from above ♪ >> you see dodger first baseman james loney who enjoyed it. as did other of the players. ms. david would recover to leave the crowd in take me out to the -- as we mentioned in the intro down load it from i-tunes. to india where five years ago the transmission and taxi driver's fiat broke. he lost every gear except reverse but continued to direct customers anyway backwards. for some reason people still get in the cab. five years later he is still driving backwards and has become

something of a local celebrity. he uses this charming siren to alert those around him and con torts his body to get a look out the back window for the whole ride. not exactly a private ride for the passenger obviously nor comfortable for mr. deb, quoting him i do have frequent pains in the neck and i have had severe vomiting in the past. pain in the neck? vomiting? you, sir, sound like you're ready for midtown manhattan. polling plus comedy suggests that she is not the best choice for the republicans for president in 2012 if they're going for the wink vote. and this started serious and got worse, that gun owner at a presidential town hall is one dot away from the government manufactured waco guy. these stories ahead. first, best persons in the world. lombard, illinois, number three best ad libber jennifer stringer who gave birth on monday, called the paramedics but never got out of the house. the daughter arrived safe, sound, and in a hurry in the house. paramedic jack shaffer can't believe it. the last time ms. stringer went into labor in march of last year

she called and he was the paramedic they sent that time. at that time she gave birth in his am balance. the father said as soon as he saw shaffer he screamed out, you got to be kidding me! dateline london, ontario number two, best criminal. unidentified car thief crashed into another vehicle, jumped from the car and tried to run away or translated into police speak the perpetrator left the vehicle. he ran just far enough to pick up a little speed when he collided head first into the telephone pole. he's okay. comparatively. and dateline, japan, number one best irony. japan pro baseball team the nippon ham fighters, for years bob costas has done a routine for his friends centering around his comedic emphasis of the name nippon ham fight earns the response, a japanese baseball veteran castigates him. they do not fight each other with hams. they do not fight ham. they do not oppose ham. nippon ham.

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when a man carrying a semiautomatic rifle outside an obama event said in arizona i still have some freedoms nobody was disputing that. when it turned out though he was one step from those who feel the branch davidian was manufactured by the government and on our third story also openly sympathetic to a '90s militia group whose members were convicted after being accused of planning to blow up federal buildings the man was part of a planned event staged by ernest hancock of the group called freedoms phoenix. hancock carried a nine millimeter pistol to the phoenix protest himself and, quote interviewed other gun carriers. he says he met with the phoenix police people last week to inform them of the group's plans. mr. hancock is an online radio host and frequent defender of the viper militia. in july, 1996 federal agents arrested a dozen of the so-called vipers along with the

90 high powered rifles they had, 500 pounds of a bomb making substance, gas masks, bullet proof vests and uniforms with a viper insignia. mr. hancock said the militia scare is what got them. it was all manufactured. the entire case was made up just like waco by the same government he says that lied about 9/11. hancock said he knew all the viper defendants, was good friends with one and added i've been feeling this coming again. it's the same people, rahm emanuel, janet napolitano, hillary clinton, all of the same people doing it back then. let's turn to our guest. good evening, sir. >> hi, keith. >> we started this explanation. would you continue it? who populated this viper militia group? what's its relevance to today? >> well, i mean, this really was a classic militia plot in the sense that these were people who were gathering weapons not only weapons which they could i suppose make the argument were defensive in some way but as you said this huge amount of ammo.

this came right on the heels of the oklahoma city bombing and so the government was justifiably very worried about this. you know, not only that but they produced films in which they surveilled a whole series of federal buildings, you know, which apparently they were attempting to bomb or planning to attack. that is who they were. you know, i think the relevance really of the group is that they are a reminder of a level of criminal violence that came out of the militia movement and can continue to come out of the radical right today. >> the viper defendants pleaded guilty to lesser weapons and conspiracy charges. mr. hancock said then they don't have criminal records. they just like their guns. obviously a lot more than guns had been confiscated. what differentiates the gun fettish and even the ammo stockpiler or even just the over enthusiastic defensive person who i guess exists from the groups that should be taken as

serious criminal threats? >> i think the amfo is what separates these groups. when you start stockpiling materials to make huge bombs, amfo of course was the very same material used to blow up the murrah building in oklahoma city, you know, you are no longer talking about even a kind of paranoid defensiveness but an offensive action and i think it's quite clear that's what was going on in this case. it's also worth mentioning that the feds very often brought weapons charges instead of conspiracy charges simply because they are so much easier as a practical matter to make in court. >> that's the ammonium nitrate fertilizer you're referring to clarify that. this may sound like a facetious question or maybe an obvious one but what the hell does all this that this man is talking about have to do with health care reform? >> well, almost nothing. i think the relationship is simply the idea, which is fueled by the fact that we have a liberal president, by the work that's been done in the auto industry and then by the idea that the federal government is becoming this giant behemoth and these are people who think the

federal government is perfectly willing to murder people in order to enforce political orthodoxy. this is exactly what hancock was referring to when he said waco was manufactured. it's that idea. the government blew up or was perfectly willing to blow up that building or attack those people in waco to force them back into political orthodoxy. >> is there any linkage evidence that the people who organized the protests in the town halls and the interruptions of them had any idea they'd be bringing these people out of the wood work, people like mr. hancock? >> no, i don't know that. what seems very clear though is the people who are coming out and some of the things they are saying not to mention the weapons they are carrying really are reminiscent of the central ideas of the militia movement that the government is evil, it can be in no way trusted. it is perfectly willing to murder your grandmother. you know, or any person who has

too many guns or in some other way flouts orthodoxy. >> mark potok of the southern poverty law center it is always terrifying, illuminating, and necessary all at the same time. thank you, sir. >> thank you, keith. >> and the threat to the president. people like the viper militia represent. when rachel joins you at the top of the hour the thoughts of her special guest frank rich of "the new york times." a woman shouts at barney frank for supposedly supporting the hitleresque policies of president obama. he portrays her accurately as a lunatic. rush limbaugh and fox news defend the antisemitic lunatic. worst persons ahead. and then which of these possible presidential nominees will you be talking about in 2012?

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anncr: but geico's good. with emergency road service. ding! actual polling suggesting the republicans would be better off nominating britney spears for president in 2012 instead of sarah palin. first, tonight's worst persons in the world. the bronze to governor jindal of louisiana. remember when the president outlined the stimulus in february and the governor made his coming out debutante speech?

>> while some of the projects in the bill makes sense the legislation is largely wasteful spending and includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high speed rail projects such as a magnetic levitation line from las vegas to disney land and $150 million for something called volcano monitoring. >> you will recall that within weeks in alaska nobody was killed because of something called volcano monitoring. now it's that wasteful spending $8 billion for high speed rail projects, governor jindal suddenly wants that money. louisiana has applied for $300 million of the $8 billion for a high speed rail project from baton rouge to new orleans. the runners up pinheads on cluster fox and friends after this fox brain washed woman asked congressman barney frank why do you continue to support a

nazi policy? he asked her on which planet she spent most of her time. these buffoons defended the woman. doocy. downright rude. somebody asked him a question. give them an answer. don't give them attitude. kill me. you guys realize you are aligning yourselves with antisemitism, right? the woman compares the president to hitler and does so do a jewish congressman? he should give them attitude. rudeness, smug mess is going on television and defending it like it was okay. this is 2009 not 1946. is fox news restricted? our winner, same topic, boss limbaugh. it's fabulous and fantastic and hilarious a woman shows up at a barney frank town hall meeting with obama as hitler poster and this nazi stuff in his district. i mean this is unreal. but the killer for me is barney frank says what planet do you live on for this woman. isn't it an established fact barney frank himself spends most of his time living around uranus? so when he starts talking about where people live, ha, ha, ha,

folks, i just can't. this is all so much fun to watch and it's all so much fun to analyze. >> that is fantastic. hitler posters and nazi references in front of a jewish congressman. that's hilarious. if you bet on hitler in the second world war. also honest to god do you know anybody over the age of 12 who still makes uranus jokes? doesn't rush limbaugh look like -- i can't even quote it. you have to listen to it yourself. rush, one too many uranus jokes, limbaugh, today's worst person in the world! one too many uranus jokes, limbaugh, today's worst person in the world!"one too many uranus jokes, limbaugh, today's worst person in the world! ", today's worst person in the world! today's worst person in the world! 2012 may be a long way off (announcer) if you think all batteries are the same, consider this:

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2012 may be a long way off in terms of political life cycles but gop hopefuls have a long way to go to earn their

party's nomination. a new poll suggests one gop favorite while popular among republicans could not compete against president obama. so who could the party of lincoln bring back out of the wilderness? i'll give you a hint. it's britney. her number one story. if sarah palin is the best they've got perhaps ms. spears could teach a thing or two about staging a comeback. the latest maris poll shows if the 2012 elections were held today a lot of people would be confused and republicans ought not to nominate palin, sarah palin. in a matchup, 56% of voters say they'd vote for the commander in chief, 33% for the ex-governor, the president beating her in almost every bloc. the only group she would score a win with registered republicans 73% of whom say they would vote for her over obama. the only region palin would keep obama under 50% would be the south but obama would still beat

her there. while palin may be down she shouldn't be counted out. instead of soliciting advice for a comeback from newt gingrich perhaps she should take a page from the britney spears playbook. after shedding 200 plus pounds, k-fed, a newly fit ms. spears appeared and laying out a comprehensive plan for not only foreign policy but entitlement programs as well that involve pie. >> the country would be different if britney spears were president. here we go. >> i'd be the first president to wear eye shadow since nixon. >> see how many times she switches from hip to hip while we do this. number nine. >> we would only invade fun places like cabo. >> that's right. okay. and roll to the right, number eight.

>> free pie for everybody. >> free pie for everybody. number seven. >> the situation room would be a cabana at the palm casino in las vegas. >> that's right. number three? >> challenge the u.s. to put night club on the moon by the decade. >> exactly. number two? >> three words. vice president ditty. >> and the number one way the country would be different if britney spears were president? >> finally the media would pay some attention to me. >> there you go. >> joining me now radio host and huffington post contributor shannon moore. good evening. >> good evening. >> surprised not to see you in alaska. the snark aside britney spears has hit some low points in her career. is the ex-governor capable of learning a thing or two from her about staging a comeback? >> i don't know that i'd want to see that kind of comeback exactly. you know, i think she could

learn a few things maybe. i guess britney has some accountability with oops i did it again. maybe she could come out with oops i quit it again. just guessing. >> not bad. the maris poll that shows her as a force within the gop but nowhere close in terms of the general electorate even in the south, does that not sort of prove that whatever the current strategy is that we've discussed so much involving the former governor, we're not sure exactly what she's doing but it's not working? >> well, her polls have totally plummeted in alaska. she's got more people against her than florida up there. if you remember back a year she was the most popular governor in the country. now it's just a huge pulse point. i think maybe she should look at a network job or something of that effect. i don't think she can recover. she just can't. she's come out with too many absolutely crazy statements and i think it's impossible at this point. >> network job like what, page in the nbc building or you mean like a broadcast network job or -- never mind. >> yeah.

>> what happens to her? and this is meant seriously. what happens if health care reform passes and they offer reimbursement for end of life counseling but there are no death panels. i mean, does she just become the joke of the first part of the 21st century? where does she fit into the political equation if they do not, if there are not massive euthanasia panels brought into existence immediately? >> well, there have been lots of things sarah palin has talked about that don't exist. so i don't know if this will just be on the list. i don't think this is going to be a big surprise. you know, she's part of the party of no you can't on so many different levels and right now i think the administration is sort of wavering on the yes we can and they really need to be told yes you will. and so as far as the death panels go it's just something in part of sarah palin's world and it's been picked up and, you know, same with talking about nazis when it comes to this. it's just part of that dribble that really is an excitable word for the base and gets them going. >> it seems as if one of the

problems here is there's always drama. sherry johnston who is the mother of the father of sarah palin's grandson pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to deliver the pain killer oxycontin. she faces prison time. what is the palin response to this? a, i'm sory this has happened to mrs. johnston but really doesn't have anything to do with me or, b, you're attacking my family again? >> right. sadly a lot of people in the country pled guilty to similar charges today that aren't related to sarah palin and, you know, people have people in their families that do bad things all the time, get caught, and they need family support. i can pretty much guarantee you what we've seen so far. sarah palin's not even going to call her family. >> alaska radio host, contributor of the huffington post shannyn moore down here in the lower 48. thanks. good to see you. that's "countdown" for this the 2,302nd day since the previous president declared mission accomplished in iraq. with this late note out of "the wall street journal" it is reporting the white house and

senate democratic leaders are going to consider a strategy shift that would break the legislation of health care reform into two parts and pass the most expensive provisions solely with democratic votes. we'll see that story develop throughout the evening and tomorrow. in the interim i'm keith olbermann. in the meantime and in between time that's all for now.